Chance
by Tagheirn
Summary: What happens when you try to fix what's been so terribly broken? You wind up being hurt as well. It takes a special kind of person to make things better for someone with no hope, but there is always someone, even if just one person, who can do it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Yes, this is a repost as I am currently working on redoing the entire story. I decided I didn't like how the other version was going and well... personally, my ideas for this one are a lot better. There will be some similarities in this and the next chapter, but for the most part, it will be very different.**

**There will likely be things that don't make sense, or that you don't approve of, but do remember, I am writing this for my own amusement and as it is a Fan-Fiction, anything and everything is very, very possible.**

**Thank you, do enjoy.**

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**Chance**

**Chapter One - Escape**

Tuesday... it was raining again... it had been raining for three days now, with no sign of letting up any time soon. I remembered... that morning they'd predicted sunshine for the entire week. There wasn't supposed to be a cloud in the sky. I suppose I could blame it on the events that had unfolded earlier that evening, but that really wouldn't be fair. There was no one to blame for any turn the weather takes.

I actually liked the rain. At least when it was light. This though, this... a storm I could almost call it, was not my ideal type of rain. The droplets were heavy, hard, almost stinging against my exposed flesh. It was unpleasant to say the least, but there wasn't a business or building open for me to hide in until it would, possibly, slack off.

No, everything had long since closed, everyone gone home. By this time, most of them were already in bed, asleep. A quick glance at the clock tower, standing taller than most other buildings in the city, told me it was a bit past midnight.

So I'd been walking for about five hours. It really didn't feel that long. No, to me, only minutes had passed. Then again, I'd been so lost in my thoughts that that was to be expected.

I was walking along 12th street, heading south, or what I believed to be south. Why that direction though? It would be the least likely way anyone would look for me.. Everyone would assume I'd go somewhere familiar; the arcade, the dance hall, or perhaps the Hospital where I worked. I wasn't normally one to... stray, so of course that's where they would look and it would take them all too long to figure out otherwise.

But where was I going? Truth be told, I didn't really know. I had just wanted to get away, as far away as I could.

Which is how I ended up where I was.

Which was... at the crossroads, I noted as I looked around. Turning left would lead me to the very clock tower I had looked to only minutes before, the middle of the city, and unfortunately, a very unsafe area. You wouldn't think so, it being in the center of everything, lit up, but I'd seen first hand the type of folk who wonder that area at night... so it was out of the question.

Going straight would bring me to the park, which was likely to be just as dangerous as the square, so.. left was where I would be going. Left. That would bring me to the market district. Not a bad choice; I could find somewhere to, hopefully, stop for the night, get out of the rain and rest.

So I stood on the corner, underneath a dying lamp post, it's light flicking on and off. And waited.

Running a hand through my hair to remove it from my eyes, slicking it back, my entire body froze as I heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Someone was behind me.

A hiccup reassured me of their presence, "H-hey there, sugar~ You-" another hiccup, the first of many indicators telling me this person, this man, was very, very drunk. "lookin' for a good time?"

I'm not quite sure what possessed this fellow to believe I was a prostitute, or a woman, for that matter, but if I had to take a guess ,I'd say it was the alcohol, though even that shouldn't have blinded him that much, seeing as he was still sober enough to walk.

I didn't want to answer him, so I turned around, back in the direction that I had come from, and began walking once more. I would simply find somewhere else to hide out, not too much of an issue.

Or at least it shouldn't have been. Going along with my luck though, the drunk man decided to follow me, though at about half speed of the pace I was going. I could only hope that I would lose him at some point... or that he'd give up.

"C'mooooon, I don't even mind that you're a fella." He called behind me, and I glanced back just enough to see him grinning like the idiot he was.

_Just keep walking. Don't stop and don't look back again. Just keep going._

"Just one niiiight~"

Persistent.. he was very persistent.. I could actually feel myself beginning to shake from more than just the cold, my mind reeling with thoughts of just what this fellow would or could do if I happened to be caught by him.

_Breathe. Nothing is happening. Nothing will happen._

All I could do was repeat the words to myself in my head, my hands, fingers, twitching almost violently before I clenched them into fists to stop the action.

I couldn't risk freaking out, not then, not **there. **I had to be safe, I had to be somewhere alone and safe before allowing my emotions to take control, before allowing myself even a moment of impending weakness.

I had to get away.

I had to...

At that point, and I'm still not sure why I did it, but without a second thought, I made a swift turn and began making my way across the street. Perhaps it was in the hope that he wouldn't follow then, or that I could slip down an alleyway. Whatever has crossed my mind though, whatever had given me the urge to do what I had done... I really, really hated it.

I froze in absolute terror as the bright headlights of a car seemed to appear from nowhere. They were closing in, fast, and while my mind screamed at me to move, to run, to jump, hell, **fly** out of the way, all I managed to do was shake, violently, tears streaming down my face.

I was going to die.

I was going to die, my body thrown off somewhere in that street.

That drunken pervert would find it as the car drove off, the driver uncaring of what he'd done, and my body would be taken and violated.

And once he was done, it would be left for the pigeons in the nearby park.

No one would find me.

In those few seconds I stood there, I experienced what was, at that point, the worst panic attack of my life, and it wasn't until I felt my head slam into the concrete that I even realized I wasn't dead.

The tears wouldn't stop and I was sure I was mumbling something, but everything was fuzzy, darkness taking over.

"Kid." A voice, a deep, penetrating voice managed to slip through my attack, but I didn't respond, I couldn't. I didn't notice the blood dripping down my forehead, or that my shirt was torn, my arm scraped and bleeding as well. I didn't notice I was clinging to this stranger, my savior, for dear life, that I was barely breathing. "Listen to me."

I was, I was listening. Or, I was trying to. I could hear his voice, make out some of his words, but they meant nothing to me. Just noise. Nothing more than noise.

"You have to try to breathe." I was breathing, wasn't I?

I was. Though they were short, shallow breaths.

My eyes opened -when had they closed?- and I saw the face of the man who saved me, who had somehow taken me out of death's hands.

That was the last thing I saw though, as just as I met his eyes, which I can recall were filled with fear, worry, the world went silent.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**** - Sunni's thoughts will generally be italicized. Once he starts communicating using ASL, it will be shown in quotes, like normal speech, but will remain italicized.**

****_This is how he will "talk" to Charles, so, his thoughts._

__"_This is how he will speak using ASL._"

**Hope that doesn't get too confusing.**

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**Chapter ****Two – Myself**

_Beep... beep... beep...beep..._

_ The sound echoed in my ears, in my mind. It was all I could hear. _

_ It sounded like a heart monitor... but why am I near a heart monitor..?_

_ Why am I at the hospital... am I sick..?_

_ Voices.. low, but I can still make out some of their conversation..._

_ Hurt... bleeding.. accident.. _

_ Someone was dying. They aren't going to make it. No hope._

_ No.. hope..._

_ But.. they don't know that.. they can't just give up on them.. _

_ Someone's touching me.. touching my arm.._

_ Why can't I see.. are my eyes closed..?_

_ Something pricked me.. a.. needle?_

_ What's going on..?_

_ Where am I..?!_

I was awake. Yes, I was very much awake though I didn't dare move. My eyes remained shut and I concentrated on controlling my breathing as I listened, very closely, to every little thing going on around me.

I wasn't dead. I knew that much, but as to where I was, that... was what I was hoping to determine. My first guess would be hospital, but that couldn't have been the case. There wasn't the smell of overused disinfecting chemicals in the air, no nurses chatting away at the bedside or outside the door. I heard no beeping, no ticking, none of the usual sounds I'd hear at work.

I also knew I wasn't at home. The sheets surrounding me, rubbing lightly against my exposed flesh -I noted then someone had removed my shirt-, were made of a much softer material than my own. I also didn't hear anyone yelling, which would have been a given, even considering what had happened.

_So.. where am I.._

"You are in my home." In an instant the silence of the area was broken and my hands clenched the sheets below me. The voice was not one I recognized; a stranger. He didn't sound like the drunk from before, no, his voice was.. kinder I suppose is the word. "You can open your eyes; I promise you are safe."

_If I was not safe, I don't think it would matter if my eyes were open or not; I'd still be in quite a bit of trouble. _

The voice, the man, chuckled, "I do suppose that is true." Slowly, I peeked one eye open, seeing a rather young man sitting in a chair on the side of the bed, one leg crossed over the other, his hands resting on his lap. I took in a deep, long breath through my nose and forced myself to sit up.

That though, was not the best choice of action, as my stomach reeled, a sharp pain shooting through me, stemming from my head and right side. Too late to do anything but bear through it until it died down though, so as a strangled cry of pain escaped me, my left arm wrapped itself around my mid-section, in a sort of hug, in a poor attempt to help it go away.

"I suggest you take it easy for now, Sunni, you took quite a hit, and considering how you panicked, I can only imagine how the after effects of that are going to affect you as well."

I'd be fine, actually... I didn't normally have any lasting symptoms of those, other than the increased need for human contact, paranoia, I suppose. I wouldn't remain ill, and any shakiness would surely wear off.

So ignoring the temporary symptoms and the pain in my arm and head, I pushed myself up and turned to face the stranger -or I suppose I was the stranger as it was his home- and stared at him. There was very little chance that this man would understand anything I would say, so I had to do the next best thing.

I asked for some paper and a pen, or well, showed that I needed it. If he wished to communicate with me, it would be-

"Actually, I don't think that will be necessary, Sunni, you see, I have a gift."

_A gift. If it's for understand sign language that would be great. _

"Sadly, no, I never did get around to learning that though I did take a course while in University. Managed to pick up bits and pieces, but nothing really solid. No, I can do something a bit better than that."

_Ah, so it's that sort of gift then. Fair enough._

"You took that quite well."

_It's not like it's anything to freak out about. I think it's rather neat honestly, and it gives my poor hands a break. _

The man laughed, smiling, "Sad to say I'm the only one here who can do this, so you'll likely have to take to carrying around a notepad to communicate with the others." Fair enough I suppose. "I do have to ask though, and I apologize if I'm being too personal, but were you born mute?" I shook my head, "A medical condition then?" Another negative. "Personal choice, perhaps?" Ah, very nice.

_I work in a Children's Hospital, or well, worked, and was stationed with the children who were deaf and mute. I took it upon myself to learn sign language in order to communicate with them, as none of the other nurses or doctors could. A few could say small things such as how are you, or what is your name, but they couldn't really talk to them, and in a place like that, everyone needs someone they can talk to._

"Yes, I would imagine so, considering."

A point for me as he didn't notice I avoided the question.

"Now, would it be alright if I asked you a few different questions?" Hesitant, I nodded, "Would it be alright if my friend asked you some as well?" Friend, what friend? "Erik, you can come in now."

My eyes locked on the door and in walked a man about the same age as the one sitting before me -whose name I still hadn't gotten- and I recognized him immediately. He was the one who had saved me. "Good to see you're awake." I simply nodded at him, giving a small smile of gratitude.

"He's thanking you for saving him." Erik -an easy name to remember, thank goodness- gave me a smile -smirk?- in return though said nothing. "Now, Sunni, I apologize for not introducing myself as soon as you woke up, but my name is Charles Xavier and this here is Erik Lensherr. Erik, this is Sunni Winston."

We nodded at each other, "Odd name for a young man." I raised an eyebrow at Erik, not quite sure why he would think that.

_Names aren't defined by gender, after all. I could have been named Maria or Tyler or George and it would make a difference._

Charles chuckled once more, then shook his head at Erik's questioning look, "Anyhow, do you remember what exactly happened the other night?"

Ah.. let's see.. I ran away from home, so to speak, walked through the city in the pouring rain.. and almost got hit by a car while trying to avoid some drunken pervert. That seems about right anyhow.

"You are very lucky I happened to be in the city when I was or you would be dead right now."

_Thank you, Erik, for reminding me; I definitely needed that._

"It was your fault for being stupid enough to walk into the middle of the road anyhow." I could only assume Charles was communicating my thoughts to him -a quick nod told me I was right- so I simply stuck my tongue out at Erik, not making another remark about it as I knew it would lead to an argument I would not be likely to win.

"Good then, now, are you aware of ah, what you are?" What I am. Well that depends on what exactly you mean. I'm a lot of things after all. "A mutant, to be more specific." That's a tad offensive. I know I'm not the best looking person, but mutated?

Charles looked a bit taken back at that, and I bit back a laugh. It was a joke. "What he means is that you are... special, one of us, if you will." By that, I could only assume he was referring to Charles' telepathy. I looked at Erik, eying him up and down, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

_Well then, big shot, what can you do._

Raising one hand towards me, he smirked once more, and I felt my necklace unclasp itself and begin to float away, the silver chain landing in Erik's open hand. Immediately, I held out my own, wiggling my fingers; my way of asking for it back. "After we're done, maybe."

Oh, no you don't.

I slid my legs off the bed and stood, placing a hand on Charles' shoulder as I almost fell. _You look here, Erik. I don't know who you think you are but you best return that necklace to me this instant or else._

All he did in response was smirk wider, dangling the necklace in front of me before putting it in his pocket. "I will return it to you after we finish talking. Think of it as leverage of sorts."

_Then hurry up and finish._

"As I was saying... Sunni, you are a mutant as well. Though I cannot tell you exactly what you ability may be, I do know that you are one of us and would like to invite you to stay here with Erik and myself -don't worry, there are others staying as well, all about your age-, in order to allow me to assist you in unlocking your gifts and learn to properly control them, whatever they may be."

_First of all, I am no mutant, and whatever told you I was, was wrong. I'm nothing more than.. than me. I have enough problems as it is, I don't need another reason for people to call me a freak, no offense. _

At that, both men frowned, "You are what you are, Sunni, and it'd be best for you to just accept that. There is nothing wrong with being different and nothing wrong with being a mutant." Erik was just about glaring at me then, his voice low and obvious displeased, "I think that until you finally do accept what you are, I will be holding onto your little necklace."

My heart stopped for a split second and my eyes widened, but before I could say, think, anything more, he turned and walked off towards the door, "Also, you may want to put something on; I don't think it would be very proper for you to meet anyone in your underwear."

I could feel my face heating up, and very slowly looked down, seeing that I was in fact, in nothing but a pair of light blue short, boxer briefs. Immediately, I sat back down on the bed, letting out a sigh of annoyance. Charles patted my shoulder and I looked to see him smiling almost sympathetically at me.

"I am sorry about that, Erik is... well, Erik. I'll speak with him later about getting your necklace back." I nodded, resting my chin in my palm, elbow on my knee, "I do have a few more questions though, but you may dress while we talk." He stood then, walking over to a small dresser, opening the top drawer and pulling out a few articles of clothing.

"I apologize if it isn't to your taste, but your clothes were ruined so we thought it best to dispose of them."

_Trust me, anything is fine, and I do mean anything as long as it means I do not have to walk around in this._ I motioned to my current outfit, and he nodded, handing over the small pile.

I stood walking off a bit and turning my back to him. The clothing he had given me consisted of a new pair of underwear, some boy-shorts -girls underwear?- "Ah, yes, I apologize for that as well. You're quite small so the only person with something that would fit you was my sister.." An airy laugh escaped me and I shrugged, not really caring. Clothes are clothes after all.

So I removed my blue boxers, dropping them off to the side, "Oh, uhm, sorry." And by that I could tell that Charles had either expected a warning before I intended to strip, or hadn't thought that part through. "So.. Where are you from?"

_Connecticut. Small city about an hour from Denver. Been living with my parents and er... a friend, in New York for about a year now, since I graduated. _I slipped on the new underwear, which were very comfortable, actually, and followed up with a pair of jeans that were just a bit too big, so they hung loosely around my hips.

"You said you worked in a hospital; but you seem a bit young to be a doctor."

_Ah yes. I'm not, haha. I say worked, but I was more of a volunteer than anything. I'd go after school and on weekends and would do various little tasks; cleaning up, tending to some of the children. I played babysitter, I guess. _

"And you.. left this job?" I froze up for a second, sighing as I slipped on the white tee shirt. I'd almost forgotten about it all, really. There would be no way I could go back, even though I wanted to.

_Not formally, though I suppose there's no going back now. Everyone very likely assumes I'm dead at this point, or at least, my parents will and word will spread._

"You are more than welcome to contact them if you so wish."

_I appreciate it.. but they're better off thinking I'm gone._

I wasn't going to elaborate on that, and I made sure he knew I wouldn't. All that mattered was that I was here, now. _Also, I just want to tell you that you are extremely easy to talk to. I'm not typically the social type, despite what I did, and I usually have a very difficult time engaging in any sort of conversation with someone I have not gotten to know._

A smile graced my face as I walked over and extended my hand to him. He returned the smile and shook my hand. _Though I have to warn you, I likely won't be half as ah... open with anyone else I happen to encounter. _

"And that is fine. I'm sure after you get comfortable, it will be easier for you to socialize. Now, seeing as you're dressed and up and about, I think we should go meet the others, hm?"

So we could hope. I was going to do a complete 180 as soon as we left the safety of this room, and while I felt bad about it, because I knew it was going to happen, there was nothing I could do to stop it.

It was how my mind was set though, and even before this, that's how it was. When I registered an area as safe, when I knew there was absolutely no threat to my mental stability, I could smile and be happy and friendly and talkative, but otherwise, well, I was very... reserved. I stayed to myself, I was quiet. Even made a habit of being a sort of ninja figure, managing to get around without ever being noticed.

From wallflower to life of the party and back again.

A never ending cycle of just... me.

But, I didn't have much of a choice, so I shrugged to myself, and allowed Charles to then lead me out of the room and into the hallway.

Which was huge and by huge I mean it reminded me of the High School I went to. Not quite as wide, but tall, and very long. There were many doors in this hallway as well, and considering the simple, yet still elegant, décor, and where we had just come from, my first guess would be that most, if not all of these rooms were bedrooms, with a bathroom or two thrown into the mix -which I was right about as we passed a door that was different than all the rest.

I was tempted to ask exactly where we were going, more so as I felt nervousness building in the pit of my stomach, but I refrained from doing so. I would figure it out on my own in a matter of minutes anyway, so there wasn't really a point in rushing.

"I think you'll get along well with the others," Sadly, I do not. I'm not normally a... social person, outside of work. I'll likely find some nice quiet place and hide out there, possibly reading or writing, maybe even trying to figure out what "special powers" I might have hidden inside me.

Yeah, right.

_I don't think this all is going to go as well as you're thinking it will._

"I don't see why not."

_You have a lot of faith in those you encounter, don't you?_

"Of course. There is great potential in everyone, sometimes it just takes someone else to... give them a bit of a push in the right direction, and I think I can do that for you."

I let out a sigh as we stopped in front of a set of double-doors, _I sure hope you're right._


End file.
